Which Tennessee counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 95 Tennessee counties we have scored, Bedford County scores highest at 98 and Anderson County lowest at 75. Tennessee ranks 9th of 50 overall, at 91 out of 100 (Good with caveats). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 95 counties · 458 spots of private rural land scored

Good with caveatsTennessee ranks 9th of 50, 91 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #4 and #12. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Tennessee, best score first

Find a county95 counties


Bedford → 112 people / sq mi	98	25	20	14	14	15	10
Greene → 117 people / sq mi	98	25	20	14	14	15	10
Warren → 99 people / sq mi	98	25	20	14	14	15	10
White → 76 people / sq mi	98	25	20	14	14	15	10
Roane → 156 people / sq mi	97	25	20	14	13	15	10
Washington → 424 people / sq mi	97	24	20	14	15	15	9
Williamson → 454 people / sq mi	97	25	20	14	13	15	10
Coffee → 141 people / sq mi	96	24	20	14	14	14	10
Decatur → 35 people / sq mi	96	25	20	14	13	14	10
Lawrence → 75 people / sq mi	96	25	20	14	13	14	10
Putnam → 209 people / sq mi	96	25	19	14	14	14	10
Dickson → 116 people / sq mi	95	23	20	14	13	15	10
Grundy → 39 people / sq mi	95	24	20	14	14	13	10
Henry → 58 people / sq mi	95	25	20	14	11	15	10
Sumner → 393 people / sq mi	95	25	19	14	13	14	10
Wayne → 22 people / sq mi	95	25	20	14	13	14	9
Bradley → 339 people / sq mi	94	25	19	14	12	14	10
Fayette → 63 people / sq mi	94	23	20	14	12	15	10
Giles → 50 people / sq mi	94	25	20	14	13	13	9
Grainger → 88 people / sq mi	94	24	20	14	13	13	10
Hardeman → 38 people / sq mi	94	25	19	14	12	14	10
Henderson → 54 people / sq mi	94	25	20	14	12	13	10
Jefferson → 210 people / sq mi	94	25	18	14	13	14	10
Lincoln → 63 people / sq mi	94	23	20	14	12	15	10
Maury → 181 people / sq mi	94	23	19	14	14	14	10
McNairy → 47 people / sq mi	94	23	20	14	13	14	10
Meigs → 70 people / sq mi	94	25	20	14	12	14	9
Montgomery → 445 people / sq mi	94	25	20	14	11	14	10
Rutherford → 593 people / sq mi	94	25	20	14	12	14	9
Shelby → 1195 people / sq mi	94	25	20	13	11	15	10
Clay → 33 people / sq mi	93	25	19	14	14	12	9
Cumberland → 95 people / sq mi	93	24	19	13	15	14	8
Knox → 985 people / sq mi	93	25	19	14	13	13	9
Madison → 178 people / sq mi	93	25	20	14	10	14	10
Marshall → 98 people / sq mi	93	23	20	14	13	14	9
Rhea → 108 people / sq mi	93	25	20	12	13	14	9
Robertson → 161 people / sq mi	93	23	20	14	12	14	10
Tipton → 136 people / sq mi	93	23	20	14	11	15	10
Trousdale → 107 people / sq mi	93	25	20	14	12	13	9
Van Buren → 24 people / sq mi	93	23	19	14	14	13	10
Bledsoe → 37 people / sq mi	92	25	20	14	12	14	7
Cannon → 57 people / sq mi	92	23	20	14	13	14	8
Fentress → 40 people / sq mi	92	25	20	14	14	12	7
Sullivan → 392 people / sq mi	92	23	19	12	15	14	9
Chester → 62 people / sq mi	91	23	20	14	11	13	10
Franklin → 81 people / sq mi	91	23	19	14	13	12	10
Hamilton → 701 people / sq mi	91	25	19	14	11	13	9
Hardin → 47 people / sq mi	91	23	20	14	13	12	9
Haywood → 33 people / sq mi	91	22	20	14	10	15	10
Houston → 42 people / sq mi	91	24	19	14	12	13	9
Overton → 54 people / sq mi	91	23	18	12	14	14	10
Polk → 42 people / sq mi	91	25	20	14	12	12	8
Benton → 41 people / sq mi	90	23	20	14	12	14	7
Carroll → 48 people / sq mi	90	23	20	14	10	13	10
McMinn → 129 people / sq mi	90	25	20	12	11	13	9
Scott → 42 people / sq mi	90	25	20	12	14	12	7
Stewart → 31 people / sq mi	90	25	20	12	12	12	9
Cheatham → 140 people / sq mi	89	25	20	12	11	12	9
Davidson → 1415 people / sq mi	89	25	20	14	11	12	7
DeKalb → 70 people / sq mi	89	24	20	14	12	12	7
Gibson → 85 people / sq mi	89	23	20	14	9	13	10
Humphreys → 36 people / sq mi	89	25	20	12	12	12	8
Loudon → 264 people / sq mi	89	25	19	12	12	12	9
Morgan → 41 people / sq mi	89	23	20	13	14	12	7
Obion → 56 people / sq mi	89	25	20	14	9	14	7
Union → 93 people / sq mi	89	25	20	14	10	12	8
Wilson → 287 people / sq mi	89	23	20	14	12	13	7
Blount → 253 people / sq mi	88	24	18	13	12	13	8
Hancock → 31 people / sq mi	88	23	20	11	14	12	8
Sequatchie → 65 people / sq mi	88	25	17	14	12	13	7
Weakley → 57 people / sq mi	88	24	20	14	9	14	7
Hamblen → 411 people / sq mi	87	24	19	14	13	10	7
Hawkins → 120 people / sq mi	86	22	18	12	14	12	8
Macon → 87 people / sq mi	86	25	20	14	9	10	8
Pickett → 32 people / sq mi	86	23	20	14	14	11	4
Smith → 65 people / sq mi	86	25	20	12	12	12	5
Unicoi → 95 people / sq mi	86	25	19	13	15	11	3
Crockett → 53 people / sq mi	85	23	19	14	8	14	7
Marion → 59 people / sq mi	85	25	20	14	10	11	5
Monroe → 76 people / sq mi	85	24	19	13	10	12	7
Cocke → 86 people / sq mi	84	24	20	13	11	11	5
Dyer → 71 people / sq mi	83	23	20	14	7	12	7
Hickman → 42 people / sq mi	83	25	19	14	10	10	5
Lewis → 46 people / sq mi	83	25	20	14	8	10	6
Moore → 52 people / sq mi	83	24	20	13	10	11	5
Perry → 21 people / sq mi	83	23	20	14	9	11	6
Jackson → 40 people / sq mi	82	25	20	14	9	10	4
Carter → 167 people / sq mi	80	25	20	14	11	10	0
Lake → 38 people / sq mi	80	25	19	14	6	13	3
Campbell → 84 people / sq mi	78	24	20	11	11	10	2
Claiborne → 75 people / sq mi	78	25	15	14	10	11	3
Lauderdale → 52 people / sq mi	78	24	20	14	5	12	3
Sevier → 168 people / sq mi	78	25	18	12	10	10	3
Johnson → 62 people / sq mi	77	25	20	11	11	10	0
Anderson → 238 people / sq mi	75	25	19	11	10	10	0

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

88% of Tennessee's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Bedford, Greene and Warren. The weakest are Anderson, Johnson and Campbell. Where the land falls short, it is most often on building (slope, septic and land price) and hazards (flood, fire, storms and earthquakes).

What separates them

Buildability: Bedford County scores 10 of 10, Anderson County 0. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Hazard: Washington County scores 15 of 15, Lauderdale County 5. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Food: Bedford County scores 15 of 15, Anderson County 10. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Legal: Bedford County scores 20 of 20, Claiborne County 15. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.
Solar: Bedford County scores 14 of 15, Anderson County 11. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.
Water: Bedford County scores 25 of 25, Hawkins County 22. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.

The state's soft spot

Hazard is Tennessee's weakest dimension, at 12 of 15 for the state as a whole. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $29k to $101k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Tennessee row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Tennessee

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Tennessee? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Good with caveatsTennessee: 91 of 100, 9th of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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